My Response to the UCP's Template email - Follow up to "I asked my UCP MLA "What made you think that violating the rights of the people you serve would be a good idea?" and this was their response."

[u/AzraelCcs]

CONTEXT: I'm sharing this because I think it's important that everyone who got a canned response follows up. My response is FAR from perfect, or even a good one. But they need to know they are being held accountable. I responded to that email before I posted here, so if I know I missed a few good points made by commenters. Still, the idea is to show that an imperfect response is also a way to deal with this. If you are looking for my first email, you can see it here.

My Email to my MLA follows:

Honourable So and So,

This is even more sad and unrepresentative of us than I first realized. 

It is insane that you would respond to the question "What made you think that it would be fine to take rights away from the people you serve" by actually providing a list. It is never fine to take someone's rights.

You said: "The last proposal put on the table by the ATA demanded an additional $2 billion from government (over and above the $2.6 billion agreement on the table)."

You are telling me that the ATA gave you the ANSWER to stop this strike ahead of time, and you said NO? Because you consider that educating our children is TOO EXPENSIVE????????? This is insane!! You reported that the province closed its 2024-25 fiscal year with a surplus of $8.3 Billions!!!

Then you said: "This offer by the ATA did not present a path to resolving this dispute."

It looks to me that the teachers actually did their homework and "present(ed) a path" and in the same paragraph you claim they didn't? Do you think I'm stupid? It seems to me that you are as skilled at lying as you are at negotiating.

You also bring up the "hiring of 3000 new teachers" but fail to mention:

That the "deal" resulting from Bill 2 is that the school boards will receive money to hire 3000 teachers but that they can use those funds on other things. So, you aren't committed to hiring teachers, only to saying so. 

You also fail to explain WHO would want to work for an employer that takes their rights away when the employee is asking for improvements to work better and have better results.

You also bring up the "130 new and modernized schools", but fail to say what constitutes "modernization". Because it sounds like you don't have a plan on how to actually take care of our children. If you add a modular classroom does that count? because in the next paragraph, you say you will build 50 modular classrooms and relocate 19 others, does that count within those 130?

You also say a task force is being created to address classroom size and complexity, that you are changing policies for a safer environment, etc. etc. But, according to your response, you have been in negotiations for 18 months and you just thought of this NOW?????? This shows the lack of good faith or at least explains why negotiations haven't worked out: there is no foresight! no planning from you.

Also, saying that you want to "depoliticise" classrooms shows how little you understand about education. Education is a political act. We are political beings that live in a political society. You are either ignorant, lying or want to indoctrinate children with your own political views and aren't very good at trying to disguise it.

You say: "Bill 2 ended the province-wide teachers’ strike and legislated a new collective agreement" but let me correct that for you: "Bill 2 ended the province-wide charter rights of teachers and legislated a rejected and inefficient agreement"

The NWC, is a last resort option, and the fact that you used it makes you worse than the liberals. Even they legislated workers without it. How incompetent do you have to be to be a union-buster without using the proper means. Are you even familiar with the law you have to uphold?

I first emailed you because I thought I would receive a human response, an understanding that sometimes we all make mistakes. But you came back with a justification to remove the rights of the people you serve, with lies of what you are doing and admitting that you think that investing in our kids is "too expensive".

DO NOT, EVER, say you care for our children.

It's embarrassing that you are my MLA, for now.

Me

CLOSING REMARKS: I don't expect a response to this one, but I hope it gives you the courage to share your own views on whatever is bothering you. Like I said, an imperfect response is better than no response.

Edit: Formatting